The DeKalb County Middle School football team traveled to Hartsville Saturday to play in the MTMS Conference Jamboree. The Saints played in three contests. The first game had a starting time of 10:20 a.m.
Each game lasted only 25 minutes, and the clock did not stop.



Both teams had only ten plays on
offense, then they had to swap to defense for ten plays.
Allen County, DeKalb's first opponent, started the game with the football.
The Saints defense swarmed the ball and did not allow Allen County to score in their first possession.
The Saint's offense took the field, and very quickly established the line of scrimmage. The offensive line created nice running lanes for their teammates.
Running Back AJ Mooneyham ran to the right side, ran through one defender, and scampered to the end zone for a touchdown run on just the third play of the DMS possession. With the ball being reset on the 50-yard line, The Saints drove down the field to the 15-yard line. However, on the 10th play, DeKalb was not able to score.
Allen County took possession of the football and again the Saints defense was stingy, not allowing any positive yards, except for one play.
That play, a 40-yard touch down run, was enough to even the score 1-1.
The coaching staff did not allow the big play to deflate their team. Keeping the energy level up, the Saint defense made play after play to keep Allen County from scoring again as time in the first contest expired.
DMS' next opponent was a very big and intimidating White County Squad. However, DMS was not going to be pushed around. The Saint defense held its own, making White County earn every yard.
The Saints offense was able to move the ball but was not able to connect with some open receivers and take advantage of some White County miscues. DMS lost the contest 1-0.
In the last game of the day, the Saints faced a very talented Livingston team.
The Saints played a number of reserve players in this game, so the coaching staff would have a chance to evaluate them under game situations.
Livingston scored five touchdowns with their ten plays as the Saints managed just two. Taylor Lee broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run on the left side of the field, and on the next play, DeKalb's Caleb Gant had a nice 50-yard touchdown run of his own.
After the game, The Smithville Review asked head coach, Tad Webb, what his thoughts on the day were.
Webb responded, “Over all, coming in we did not know what we were holding. We had a lot of inexperience, but as we got going and settled in, the boys played hard. That's what we hang our hat on, is putting forth the effort; give 100% every play and the definitely did that.”
“Just like anything, we are coming up here to see what we need to fix and adjust. We saw some things that we need to work on,” Webb continued.
Webb added, “Just like anything, we are also looking to get better and we saw that today. In turn, we also saw some things that were good. We need to capitalize on that and focus on what we are doing good, continue to do that and not let it slip.”
Webb concluded, saying, “The things that we need to correct, we need to do them quickly, because we turn over and play Tuesday night. So, we have one day to break down film and come back on Monday with a game plan for Tuesday.”